Traditional Irish Lamb Stew
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If you crave tradition, this Irish Lamb Stew is much like recipes that have bubbled in Irish cauldrons for centuries. Tender lamb simmering in a fragrant broth with root vegetables is a perfect way to celebrate all things, Irish.

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For years, I served corned beef and cabbage, always a favorite, and then to mix it up a bit, we began serving salmon, always a traditional Irish choice.
But for some reason, lately, our son begins to crave Irish Lamb Stew on the 17th of March. For the last several years — and I see no sign of it stopping.
It may be the idea that this stew bubbled in Irish cauldrons for centuries — or it may be our Celtic music and dancing that adds to our fun — or it may be the accompanying
It may be the idea that recipes similar to this traditional Irish Lamb Stew bubbled in cauldrons for centuries in Ireland — or it may be the Celtic music we turn up rather loud on the 17th, or even the jigs we dance on that night.
Or it may be that this stew is perfectly accompanied by his all-time favorite Irish soda bread or the Apple Cake I seem to always bake. But wherever his cravings are coming from — you can be sure that Irish Lamb Stew will be simmering at my house on this festive evening this year. Once again.
And for the purists among us — substitute the lamb for 1.2kg mutton (year-old lamb), which equates to about 3.5lbs. The rest of the ingredients are purely traditional.
Irish Lamb Stew Ingredients
- Lamb, chopped into bite-size pieces
- Onions, thickly sliced
- Russet potatoes, thickly sliced
- Turnip, cut into chunks
- Celery, cut into large pieces
- Carrots, cut into chunks
- Herbs: fresh thyme and parsley
- salt and pepper
How to Make Irish Lamb Stew
This simple, one-pot lamb stew is simple to make with mostly hands-off cooking.
Step 1: Prepare the Stew
Place onions, carrots, turnip, and celery into a heavy Dutch oven, and then place the meat on top. Add thyme, salt, and pepper and cover with cold water.
Step 2: Simmer the Lamb Stew
Bring to a near boil. Skim any excess fat that may rise to the surface. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
Remove the cover for the last 1/2 hour -it’s important that the meat does not boil. (As the old saying goes “a stew boiled is a stew spoiled”).
Step 3: Add Potatoes and Serve
About a half-hour before the stew finishes, boil some potatoes to add to the stew just before serving.
Serve on deep plates and scatter freshly chopped parsley over with boiled jacket potatoes – (the potatoes in the stew are just for thickening purposes).
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Traditional Irish Lamb Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs lamb chopped
- 3 medium onions thickly sliced
- 3 medium russet potatoes thickly sliced
- 1 medium turnip – cut into chunks
- 3 stalks celery – cut into large pieces
- 4 medium carrots – cut into chunks
- fresh thyme and parsley for serving
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place onions, carrots, turnip and celery into a heavy dutch oven, and then place the lamb on top. Add thyme, salt and pepper and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a near boil. Skim any excess fat that may rise to the surface. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
- Remove the cover for the last 1/2 hour, it’s important that the meat does not boil. (As the old saying goes “a stew boiled is a stew spoiled”).
- About a half hour before the stew finishes, boil some potatoes to add to the stew just before serving.
- Serve into deep plates and scatter freshly chopped parsley over with boiled jacket potatoes – (the potatoes in the stew are just for thickening purposes).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.